Cincinnati food trucks offer creative cuisine on the go

In 2010, the City of
Cincinnati approved a pilot program that allowed up to 25 mobile food
vendors to operate in three designated public zones: Sawyer Point, Court
Street Market and at Fifth and Race streets. Since then, 11 vendors
have signed up for the permits that allow them to operate within the
city.

Streetpops mixes modern design with vintage style, selling gourmet
popsicles made from scratch, using the freshest ingredients possible.
Owner Sara Bornick recently expanded business from box-cart vendor to
full storefront to accommodate her booming business.

O’Bryonville restaurant transports diners to Northern Italy

I was
truly excited to try Enoteca Emilia. After all, I used to live in
Bologna, which is the capital city of the Emilia Romagna region of
Italy, and I have always lamented the lack of Northern Italian
restaurants in our area. Enoteca Emilia’s concept was enticing in that
the owners were going to focus on small plates to encourage sharing, and
feature cured meats and cheeses with sophisticated snacks, pizza,
salads and pasta.

View Cucina (2200 Victory Pkwy., 513-751-8439), housed on the
fifth floor of Edgecliff Residences on Victory Parkway, has the feel of a
hotel restaurant with the blend of elegance and comfort that the
Stephens’ family of Bella Luna fame has mastered. With an expanse of
windows showcasing a view of the river filling the space, the relatively
small room feels much bigger.

I have
an absolute passion for Chinese food. I have worked at or been involved
with several Chinese restaurants for many years, so I have an educated
palate for Chinese cuisine. Blue Gibbon Chinese Restaurant has been
operated by the same family for over 30 years, so they obviously
understand how to keep their customers coming back.

I’d learned through an accidental slip of
the lip that pastry chef Summer Genetti left The Palace this summer.
She’d been a star at that fine-dining restaurant, and leaving was a
tough decision. But for a young woman who’d started
soaring ahead in her career soon after she started at age 18, the focus
it had taken to get to the top was taking a toll. She’d grown up at
work, in the kitchen, putting in an incredible number of hours and
missing her twenties almost entirely.

In recent years, thanks to a couple of
national chains, burritos have become a basic in the American diet.
Given that popularity, Chef Gina Puopolo abandoned her fine dining
pedigree and opened up Lime Taqueria (522 Main St., 859-360-7420) in
Covington’s popular MainStrasse district. Lime lives on the cutting edge
of Mexican cuisine, and it’s a fine place to be.

Big news: Boca’s moving downtown to the
home of the long-loved and lamented Maisonette on Sixth Street. My
reaction is, “Yay!” in a word, but for everyone of a certain generation
who says yay, there are dozens of younger people who say, “Huh?” People who started college this year were
born in 1993. I have underwear that’s older than they are.

In honor of my hectic schedule and MidPoint’s 10th fest,
I’ve decided to celebrate the 21-month anniversary of Lost in the
Supermarket with a round-up of some of the horrible things I’ve consumed
so that you don’t have to. Taste test results have ranged from “Oh my
God, how can people eat this?” to “Not too bad,” which is akin to five
stars here.